Shabby and Flitz (III)

“This guy really knows how to cook”, Shabby sighed and remembered the delicious meals they were served yesterday. He shifted a little on Flitz´ back trying to get in a more comfortable position. They had just started the last leg of the journey. “Stop fidgeting” Flitz replied. “ You are ruining the wonderful graciousness of my flight! It was a good decision to spend the night with the mushroom: Good food and good company”, he added. Then he enquired:” Do you know why we were sent with this heavy letter to Portus? It must be very important. Portus is one of the Great Seven, isn´t he?”

“Yes, I have an idea”, Shabby replied, feeling for the big stuffed envelope secured in his vest pocket. “

The Great Seven Magicians

There are seven Great Magicians in the fairy tale dimension. The old tree magician teaching at the magic school is the leader of this group. (See The Magic School).

You met the three magicians who delivered the power of the ring to me the ring bearer: The snake, the badger and the butterfly in this post The Ring Bearer. They also belong to the Great Seven.

The job of the Great Seven is monitoring the magic evolution of the fairy tale dimension. They collect new spells, or work on new areas of magic that were not yet included in the blueprint of the FTD. They test them and put together a list of recommended changes. The only being that can change the blueprint and incorporate these new areas of magic is the ring bearer. The ring bearer has to master the third living rune on his ring that represents the blueprint of the FTD to change the blueprint.

The illness in the fairy tale dimension

Shabby tells Flitz: “Our assignment must have something to do with this mysterious illness that is spreading all over the FTD. I have heard that there has been an increased demand for special agents to transport urgent messages because of this.”

Flitz asks: ”What illness?” Shabby replies: ”Something seems to be spreading all over the FTD from the centre outwards. People feel tired and off. The plants and the countryside are also affected. I researched a bit in our library at the central depot. It seems that every 2,000 years or so a frequency change occurs in the FTD. This is part of our regular evolution. Some people say that we are entering a higher frequency range, whatever this means. In the human world you could compare this to the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution changed the technical development and thereby the environment completely. In the FTD our equivalent to technology is magic. We are waiting to do a big step that is by now overdue. It has something to do with the energy everywhere and the frequency that is emanating through everything. “

“Oh, I was not aware of this”, Flitz put in, “I have never heard anything about this in our history lessons.”

“You are right”, Shabby answered, “there is no record of this ever having happened. Never before was there a nationwide illness in the FTD. This is why it took the Great Seven so long to put together what was happening. The frequency change has to be completed by the ring bearer. It should have been completed over a thousand years ago. Because of this time lag our whole dimension is affected.”

“What happened? Why was the change not completed by the ring bearer?“ Flitz asked.

“Not one of the ring bearers who were in office during the last thousand years managed to work with the third rune of his ring. “ Shabby answered. “You know that the ring bearer comes alternately from our dimension and the human dimension? The ring bearers are not gods but normal people. They do have special traits and abilities like being exceptional healers or magicians but that is it. They have to be able to accept themselves a hundred per cent before they can work with the last rune that represents our dimension. It is a living rune and the ring bearer has to become one with the rune. When he is not ready and engages this rune he will die. Sadly this happened a few times in the last few hundred years. Normally it would not really matter when one ring bearer does not manage the third rune. The next one or the one after that would learn how to do it eventually.”

“OK.” Flitz mused. “So our whole dimension is in danger. Interesting. Do you know what I think: The humans are rocking their boat in their dimension quite hard at the moment with climate change on earth and the shift in consciousness going on everywhere. I feel that we are in an equally dangerous situation here.”

“You might have a point there”. Shabby conceded. “The two dimensions really are very close.”

Meeting Portus

They flew on towards Portus´ home. Portus, the magician Shabby and Flitz went to deliver their letter to was the fifth of Great Seven. He was living in the castle of his brother´s family. His brother was the reigning king of his fairy tale country. Portus was an owl and looked like you would picture a scholar: He had brown always slightly ruffled feathers and wore thick glasses perched low on his beak.

When Shabby and Flitz landed in the courtyard of the castle the sun was starting to set. A man of the guard came forward to ask them what they wanted. Shabby got off, greeted him politely and asked to see Portus personally because he had an important letter to deliver to him.

They were led into the entrance hall and told to wait there. They looked around the high ceiling and the rough red stonewalls that did not have any ornaments or tapestry. There were only a few chandeliers with candles giving off a diffuse light.

Soon after they entered Portus came shuffling down the hallway. He inspected the two looking closely at them: “You are the special agents who have important news for me?” He held out his wing and Shabby gave him the thick envelope. The seal on the envelope started to talk to Portus in a strange language and he answered in the same way. Then the seal dissolved. Portus walked a few steps, took out the letter and began to read. He had already totally forgotten our two friends.

Hospitality

After ten minutes a servant came along and saw them standing there. He walked over and said: “Greetings! You must be the mail people. Don´t mind him,” he pointed to Portus doing an eye roll, “sometimes he is not from this world. The king offers you hospitality for the night. Come on I will get you something to eat and show you to your room.” Glad to be relieved of their duty the two followed the servant to the spacious kitchen where a big pot of stew was bubbling over a fire. The smell of freshly baked bread made their mouths water. The servant sat them down at a big table and left. A cook came over to serve them. When they were finally digging into their dessert of fruit and cake the cook sat down to chat with them. He inquired about their journey and when Flitz told him what he knew of the illness he offered some information himself:

“We are seeing some of the effects of this illness here, too. For example we could only harvest half the amount of apples form our trees this season. Some of the older citizens can hardly move because they feel so stiff. Then there is a dramatic increase in skin diseases. A lot of people develop rashes or pustules. Portus has borrowed my biggest pot to put together magic potions and skin ointments in great quantities. They help a little.”

He added: “The Great Seven Magicians have been communicating a lot these days. They reached out to the ring bearer and we are expecting her visit some time during the next few weeks.” The cook cleared away their dishes and bade them a good night. The two retired.

Surprise

In the morning they woke up early to sounds of big bustling outside their door. They dressed quickly and made their way to the kitchen through the people crowding the hallways. The cook greeted them sweating from kneading dough: “Good morning! Sit down and help yourself to some food. I will be with you in a minute.”

Shabby was peeling an egg when the cook sat down across from them: “I don´t have much time!” he exclaimed. “The ring bearer is going to be here any minute and I have so much to prepare!” Shabby and Flitz looked at each other and raised their eyebrows. Now, this was cool! Perhaps they could catch a glimpse of the ring bearer herself!

To be continued…

Addendum: The frequency change in the fairy tale dimension was implemented on February 3rd 2018.

Shabby and Flitz (II)

With this blog post I am continuing the loose sequence of introducing different fairy tale countries and interesting people. You already learned about the mail system of the fairy tale dimension (FTD) and met Shabby. Check this blog post for the beginning: Start of a New Fairy Tale. Today you will meet Flitz and accompany both of them on their first assignment.

Flitz is a small flying dragon. With his three meters he is very small compared to his siblings and cousins. These keep growing all of their lives and can get gigantic. Nobody knows why he stopped growing. This made him the little one who got picked on every chance people got. He felt very much the outsider. One of the positive sides of his small size was that he could travel without making people afraid or arousing suspicion. Since he was the adventurous type he applied for a job with the mail people. His test showed that he was very intelligent as well as fast and after his apprenticeship he got paired with Shabby.

The Island of the Dragons

Flitz comes from a fairy tale country that supplies the FTD with ferocious fire spitting dragons. They grow up on a big island in a small ocean. When a fairy tale needs a new dragon to watch over a treasure, to abduct virgins or as an adversary for brave knights they send an invitation and whoever wants the job leaves the island. Flitz of course is too small to meet the requirements for any of these jobs.

Shabby meets Flitz

Because his wings are big in relation to the size of his body he is very fast. Shabby and Flitz met in the central training facility of the mail system for special agents. First they were tested separately and then as a team. Before their first assignment Shabby had to learn how ride on Flitz. Flitz wore a harness that he found irritating and itchy. At first his constant itching caused Shabby to topple off in mid-flight a few times.

It turned out that Shabby loved riding on Flitz though he had a hard time keeping on top. His short legs could not hold onto Flitz´s round belly properly. The two devised a kind of sleeve made out of soft leather for each of Shabby´s legs. He fastened the sleeves on his legs and clipped them onto the harness of the dragon and this worked pretty well keeping him on top.

Their first job as a team

Their first assignment was to bring a letter to the magician of a fairy tale country not far from the training facility. The two of them were so proud when they set off on their first journey. The trip was planned for 2 days of travel time one way.

They had an idea where to stop to rest for the first night and some basic rations in case they could not find any food on the way. The morning was beautiful when they started from the top of a tower in the direction of the distant hills.

They spent the day travelling over rolling hills, green meadows and small streams. When they were tired they stopped in a fairy tale country with the name Mandalai. They knew the country was safe. Here a wise king lived with his people. They loved to study and were experts on magic fire works. Flitz landed on a clearing in the woods where they saw a small fire from which delicious odours were emanating.

Did I tell you that our two heroes love good food? This is a topic the two of them never quarrelled about. They both thought that there had to be enough time for a decent meal no matter where you travelled. So they often let their noses decide where to take a break or spend the night. This was the reason they chose this clearing for landing. As Mandalai was known for being benevolent to strangers they landed after a small flyby.

On the ground Shabby untangled himself from the sleeves and the harness, jumped down on the ground stretched and yawned. Flitz took off the harness stretched and shook himself.

He said: “You were getting really heavy at the end and I am tired and so hungry!” Shabby answered: “ I am also tired and my bottom is sore. All my muscles are aching. I am looking forward to some nice food, too. Look there is somebody near the fire over there!”

The magic mushroom

They walked over to the fire and were greeted by the being that was sitting there. Since they had learned a lot about the different fairy tales in training they knew that this was one of the famous magic love mushrooms. This one was pretty old because he was huge. Its head had a diameter of more than three meters. He had small hands with long fingers on two thin arms. The four small legs with tiny feet enabled him to walk and keep the big body and hat upright. He sat cross-legged near the fire stirring in some pots and pans. The smell got even more tantalizing close up.

Shabby and Flitz introduced themselves and asked if they could stay the night. The mushroom welcomed them warmly at his fireplace. The two made themselves comfortable and offered to add some of their provisions to the evening meal. The mushroom declined. He told them that the couple that booked him for the night had a quarrel and cancelled at the last minute. This is why he was cooking food for three. The ingredients wouldn´t keep until tomorrow. He was glad to have company and invited them for the meal in exchange for their life stories.

Shabby and Flitz were very happy at meeting a gourmet cook. They told him where they came from and that they were on their first assignment for the postal service. The magic mushroom told them about his journeys. He and his brethren were collecting love magic all over the fairy tale plain. He knew how to make love potions and attraction charms. He was also an expert on seduction. With his charms he could help you to enhance your appearance to be more attractive to the opposite sex.

He told them that he got invited by the king of Mandalai and offered his services in exchange for new recipes for love potions and charms. He told them that he preferred to travel in warm climates like here because his fingers would get stiff in the cold and he could not play his lute any more.

In his native fairy tale country love magic played an important role. He and his brethren collected everything magic that had to do with love. They travelled all over the fairy tale dimension and were hired to provide unique services: You could book him as a couple for example for a love weekend. He would cook delicious aphrodisiac meals for you, play magic love music on a big string instrument and provide shelter with his big hat. You see why they were very popular with all kinds of species.

The last leg of the journey

Shabby and Flitz spent the night in the magic mushroom´s company. After a good night´s rest under his big hat the three of them parted after breakfast and warm farewells. Then they were on their way for the final leg of their journey.

In the last blog post I told you that death in the fairytale dimension (FTD) is not as absolute as it is here. People can choose whether to rise from the dead and go on living in the same place and time or not. Death in one fairy tale country is often only a means to start fresh in another one.

How to leave the FTD

What happens when people want to disengage from the fairy tale dimension altogether? For this you need the grim reaper. He is personified death. The grim reaper is an integral part of the FTD. His job is built into the blueprint of the dimension. He is the gatekeeper who escorts people out of the dimension into other states of consciousness. His job is really big and very important. He has hundreds of billions of possible clients: Every inhabitant of the FTD.

If someone is choosing to die they subconsciously call the grim reaper. He receives the signal and comes and gets them. There are many different manners of disengagement to choose from, but in the FTD people prefer to simply vanish. They rarely create illnesses, accidents or other violent ways to disengage. Interestingly their bodies disappear with them. At the agreed time death appears in one of his disguises and takes them by the hand. With the other hand he opens the exit and escorts his client out of the dimension.

Sometimes when he shows up a bit late people have changed their minds and this is where the legend of cheating the grim reaper comes from. In fact people don´t cheat death; they simply change their opinion and choose to stay longer.

The two insignias of the grim reaper

The grim reaper uses his insignias to perform his duties. They are handed down from one reaper to the next.

The first item is the magic key that will open the door out of the dimension. We usually picture this key as a scythe. If you observe it closely however you can see that it does not have any sharp edges. It looks more like a big intricately crafted key with runes on it mounted on a stick. He is the only being who can open the door of the dimension with this key.

The famous black hooded cape is the second item. It helps the grim reaper to shapeshift and appear at a multitude of locations. To journey in all parts of the dimension simultaneously he has a specially outfitted room in his house. The room has a round shape and there are lots of mirrors on the walls facing inwards. Death stands in the middle of the room with his cape and key and his image is multiplied hundredfold. He then tunes in to the different calls for disengagement and walks through the mirrors in as many versions of himself as it takes to meet his clients everywhere in the dimension.

Personified death in earth culture

The concept of personified death is part of earth culture, too. Pictures of death as a skeleton with his black cape and scythe are depicted often.

In my healing practise I have once worked with a girl who has lost her mother early in life. I was consulted because she was having terrible nightmares. In these nightmares she visualised death as a skeleton with a black cape that was attacking her mother. Thankfully we managed to get rid of this nightmare. But this incident shows that even children personify death in this way.

Here is a Wikipedia link on personified death in earth cultures if you are interested the grim reaper.

A visit in the home of the grim reaper

It turns out that death in the FTD is not grim at all but a very friendly humanoid fellow who takes his job quite seriously. I call him Grimmy and he thinks this name is hilarious. When I asked him whether I could visit him with a group of friends he gladly invited us into his home. Being the ring bearer has its perks. This house and its location is one of the best kept secrets of the dimension. Hardly anybody ever gets invited there. Like my home it is built mostly in the shadows. This means it is not easily visible when you walk by. In his home Grimmy feels at ease and can relax from his strenuous job. If you want to know more about the home of the ring bearer follow this link: Home of the Ringbearer.

Grimmy and his assistants cooked a wonderful meal for us. We sat around a big table getting to know each other. After the meal there was an impromptu party. The furniture in the dining room was put to the side and somebody played some music. One of my friends literally flirted with death. Both of them had a ball. My friend from Switzerland played a game of cards with Grimmy: A game where the player who cheats best wins. I am not sure who was best. He let some of us even try on his cape and pose in the mirror. Fun.

His house was not dark at all but very light. We did a tour and he seemed to favour light wood panels to plain painted walls. There were some interesting art objects on display: I saw a statue of a mother and child and some cheerful paintings with flowers. They reminded me of Monet.

The story of the grim reaper

In a quiet moment I asked him how he became the grim reaper. He told me his story:

He has lived many life times in different fairy tale stories. He was not so much interested in magic but more in social interactions. In these lives he was mostly a craftsman or a farmer.

He got interested in the job of the grim reaper when his late wife chose to leave the dimension. He watched when she left on a beautiful horse, slowly vanishing form his sight. He was fascinated and contacted the grim reaper currently in office and interviewed him about the job. Soon afterwards he was accepted as an apprentice. When his predecessor wanted to leave the dimension he performed an elaborate ritual and handed over the insignias and his powers of office to Grimmy.

It was very fascinating to meet a person who plays such an important role in the FTD. I enjoyed this visit very much. Grimmy is such an interesting likable fellow and a very considerate host. Should you meet him in your dreams give him my kindest regards.

I am a book lover.

I have always loved books even before I could read myself. Even though I use the internet and social media a lot I still love to read books. It is fun to be connected to my friends all over the world digitally and E books are great for holidays when I don´t want to carry much weight. But I miss the haptic feeling of paper and the sound of a turning page. I have a lot of books at home although I reduced their number and I don´t hang on to every book any more. I collect books of my favourite authors and all kinds of science fiction and fantasy books. I bet that doesn´t surprise you, dear reader.

I am equally fond of libraries. For me they feel like safe heavens. They are well structured, it is quiet and there is sooo much information right at your fingertips.

Books in the fairy tale dimension (FTD)

In the FTD books are not very common. This is due to the fact that academia is not important in most of the fairy tale countries. People who read books are often magicians, healers or belong to governments. Most scholars own books and you can buy them on markets.

A lot of people don´t have much use for knowledge from books. Basic arithmetic and writing are taught in most villages. Beings who want to get advanced education and are exceptionally bright are sent to boarding schools free of charge. The schools maintain themselves by selling the magic objects they produce.

The magic library

A lot of books have their home at the main library of the fairy tale dimension (FTD). It is located in a separate building near the magic school I told you about. Here is the link to the blog post about the magic school should you want more information: The Magic School

It is not the only library but the biggest one. It is connected to other libraries in many different countries. In my home in the FTD I have a small library that has a secret passage directly to the main library. Fun! Many other magicians and teachers have libraries and some also have permanent passageways to the main library.

Magic books

Books used in everyday FTD life look a lot like ours from a hundred years ago. In this post I am not telling you about these. Some of the books in the magic library are very very different:

Books can talk

Yes, you read correctly! These books can interact with you. You can ask questions about their subject and they will answer as best as they can. They can also rephrase an answer if you have not understood before. If you don´t speak the language they are written in, they will translate for you. Of course you can still read them by simply turning the pages.

They come in all sizes

There are miniscule books the size of your little fingernail and giant books about 2 meters long, a meter high and a meter wide. Some of these are big enough for you to sit in and listen to their story. Quite cosy, I can tell you.

Varieties and textures

Many books have pages made of paper. Others have silk pages or pages made of hide and things you don´t want to contemplate too closely. Some are made out of pure magic. Some are bound in leather some in velvet. There are ones that have a cover made of feathers, flowers or fungus.

Books have personalities

I wouldn´t say that the books in the FTD are sentient beings but they are certainly alive in some way. Some you have to coax into talking and others will babble away easily. A book bound in barbed wire and spikes may be more difficult to talk to than a book with a cloud cover. That doesn´t mean necessarily that the cover will tell you something about the personality of the book.

You can imagine that these books contain a lot of magic and are therefore elaborate to manufacture.

The interior design of the library

The differences in the books are the reason that the interior design of the magic library has to be different from the layout we are acquainted with. Instead of long tables where people peruse books there are nooks and crannies for the visitors. These niches are soundproofed by magic. Otherwise there would be a cacophony of voices that would be very distracting.

How to do research

To do successful research in the FTD you need a new set of strategies. For example you can talk to more than one book at once. But be careful some don´t get along too well especially when the authors have opposing views. You could end up with books screaming at each other at the top of their non-existent lungs. As a researcher in the FTD I prefer to use the oldfashioned pen and paper to record information. There are more interesting methods of doing this of course:

One method employs a species that looks like fluffy balls. They are used as living memory banks. The energy of information is their food and they are very reliable. They can even structure and file information for you. Another method is the automatic feather. This feather writes down what you dictate. She may point out mistakes you have made in the process.

Having read this I bet you can understand why I love the magic library so much. Do you have any impressions you want to share here or in the facebook group?